Flat panel displays are increasingly popular for both home and business uses. Because of their thin profiles, flat panel displays are typically mounted on load-bearing surfaces, such as walls or ceilings. Although flat panel displays are becoming increasingly thin, they are also increasing in width and height, making them heavy and difficult to maneuver when mounting.
A typical mounting procedure requires a complex set of tasks, including locating studs behind drywall, measuring the distance between the mounting holes on the rear of the flat panel display or mounting plate, mapping the location of the mounting holes onto the wall and drilling screws into the wall to fix the display or mounting plate to the wall, making sure that the screws are drilled into locations that will allow the display to be level. Incorrect measurements, stud location, mapping or drilling can result in the display being mounted at an incorrect angle or require the long and complicated process of mounting to be repeated, leaving unsightly holes in the drywall.
Other typical mounting procedures require holding a heavy mounting device against the wall, leveling the device with a level, and marking drill points on the wall through holes in the mounting device. Screws are drilled through the holes in the mounting device into the wall. Because the mounting device may be heavy and awkward, however, this method is cumbersome and may require multiple people to aid in leveling and screwing while others hold the mounting device in place. The mounting device may also cause the mounted display to project farther away from the wall, taking up space in the room and negating the advantages of the display's thin profile. These prior art techniques are also used for other objects to be mounted on a surface, such as, for example, artwork, mirrors, etc., particularly if those objects have fixed mounting locations, such as rear hooks or openings that must be accurately mapped to the mounting surface.